Interview with Fiona Watson // The Sentimentalist

Fiona’s work just ooses nostalgic goodness. Anyone who has had a family holiday on the coast of Australia will instantly be taken back to the good old days in that old holiday house or caravan park.
Enjoy her words and soak in the sentiment.

What does an average day look like in the land of The Sentimentalist?
I currently work part time as a secondary art and supply teacher and as a supply teacher, my days are constantly changing. If I am not at school, have an exhibition or market coming up my days are filled with drawing, cutting, printing or hand colouring my linocuts. I have many ideas floating around in my mind, so I’ll also spend time out photographing locations, houses or hotels. I’ll work through my extensive collection of photos I’ve taken as I see things out and about, as well as sketching and brainstorming in my visual diaries. Mornings are usually reserved answering emails, processing orders, updating my online shop and for close detailed work while the light is good in my ‘studio’ (my dining table!) Cooler evenings are good for the many hours involved in hand printing an edition.

Have you always been a creative person?
Yes, even from a very young age. My parents and family always supported this talent as I grew. Big sets of Derwent colouring pencils, art books and trips to the Art Gallery were treasured gifts. I studied Visual Art through secondary school and then at University, graduating in 1991 as a Secondary Art Teacher….a job I love to this day. It wasn’t until 2010 that I decided to start creating work to sell at local markets and my arts practice grew from there. My creativity also shows in my love of cooking, gardening and an interest in interior design. 

You clearly have very significant influences in your work. Tell us a little about what inspires you and your creations.
The aesthetic or style of my work is very much informed by the nostalgia of the older Gold Coast lifestyle and the holidays people enjoyed here. I document, preserve and reflect upon these older homes and holiday flats in my work and I find the classic architecture comforting. These fibro and blonde brick beach houses dot the Gold Coast in all their kitsch quirkiness and the retro nostalgia and memories attached to these often humble dwellings and holidays shacks are an integral layer in the storytelling of earlier times. My immediate neighbourhood on the southern Gold Coast still holds some hidden gems, though with the continuing development these are often dwarfed by new buildings. Viewing them I wonder who has stayed in them over the years and what stories those walls could tell. The best moments are when I discover homes obviously still occupied by their original owners, complete with early model cars, Hills Hoists, patio furniture and concrete pots. Like a little time capsule, their fading beauty is still charming. My media of choice, linoprinting, evokes some of that ‘worn around the edges’ charm of those homes. Other artists I am inspired by include Reg Mombassa, Bruce Gould and Susan Schmidt.

My regular customers and the main audience of my work are people with a love of nostalgia and retro architecture and those keen on preserving and celebrating the local history of the Gold Coast. People connect with my work as they remember their own holidays or family homes, and those memories are powerful. They purchase my work as a little piece of their own history to reminisce about.
Reflecting on what I love most about what I do, it is the connections I make with people as I discuss my work and they tell me their own stories. In a literal sense I love the carving of the lino block the most….repetitive and like a meditation…I can get lost for hours! It’s my ‘happy place’.

Your lino prints are amazing. Can you tell us how you create these?
Thank you! My preferred method of printmaking is a relief printmaking process called lino printing. It involves drawing a design onto a specially made surface then removing the areas I do not wish to print using small wood carving tools, leaving a raised area to receive the ink. I need to work with the image in reverse, and as I often include street signage in my work (I love little details like that!) I need to ensure the writing is reversed also. Depending on the size and complexity of my lino designs, some blocks can take over 20 hours just to cut. This carved block is then inked up using a soft rubber roller, then a print is taken by rubbing the back of the printing paper with a tool called a ‘baren’. An edition of around 20 prints can take 3 to 4 hours to print by hand, with all of my work being printed in my home by hand, by myself. I do not have a printing press.

Any tips for someone wanting to give lino printing a go?
I majored in printmaking and photography at University, so I have had the opportunity to work in some amazing professional standard studios, but honestly I am creating my work now from a small apartment… and nothing stops me!  I set my inking area up in my kitchen and print on my dining table. Even my largest prints can be dried on portable clothes airers, and when I am in full swing my lounge is full of them!  Luckily lino printing can be a very portable and easy to clean up media, requiring only a few tools.  A simple/stylised design, with a good contrast of black and white, and with not too many small/fine details to start with is the key. Safety is also very important and the first piece of equipment that should be purchased is a ‘bench hook’ to safely hold the block while cutting, so fingers (holding blocks) are not in the way of sharp tools.

Can you name a few fellow Aussie makers we should know about?
I have had the joy of meeting and working with so many amazing makers in the years I have been creating myself, and the people I most admire are those who are truly unique, make their own work by hand and are a supportive colleague. Some of these amazing people include…
– Astra Robertson from Reeden, beautiful children’s clothes designed and made by Astra using vintage fabrics and trims
– Phee Braithwaite from Ophelia Braithwaite Jewellery, who sources ethical gems and recycles silver and gold into stunning one off handmade pieces of jewellery.
– Azz Godina from Saltyvibes whose artwork never fails to make me smile!

Last one, if you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
Gosh….I love food, haha, what a hard choice!  Hmmmmmm…… I’m a pretty big fan of watermelon.
Is that a meal? If I had to nominate a meal, probably something spicy and light like Thai perhaps, a good stir fry or pad thai.

Thanks Fiona for taking the time to chat! Love your work and I’m sure the Crafted readers will have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know a little more about you and your creations! 

Fiona’s new work is currently on display at Cafe Dbar in Coolangatta QLD. See below for details.

Fiona has a really great instagram account. Make sure you check it out!
the_sentimentalist_fw